This exhilarating reinterpretation of The Rite of Spring draws on Tibetan concepts of the cycles of life and rebirth and the indivisible unity of humankind and the natural world. Taking inspiration from Chinese and Tibetan symbols of nature, Yang Liping creates a preface and a coda, framing Stravinsky’s totemic work as the second of three tableaux — Incantation, Sacrifice and Renewal.

A household name in her native country, Yang Liping has won huge international acclaim for her extravagant, breathtakingly visual dance works, blending Chinese aesthetics and modern expression in a distinctively personal movement language.

A provocative new perspective on Stravinsky’s revolutionary ballet of sacrifice and renewal, this is a radical Rite, whose Chosen One willingly gives herself for the good of the community, journeying from terror and doubt to knowledge, empowerment and reincarnation.

Bringing together an international creative team — including Oscar-winning designer Tim Yip — and 15 dancers, this is a visually ravishing work shot through with Eastern philosophy, startling colour and images of striking beauty and strangeness, all accompanying Yang Liping’s elegant, dreamlike movement. Parts I and III feature a new musical score from Chinese composer He Xuntian, influenced by traditional Tibetan music. Strikingly original, this is a Rite of Spring unlike any version you’ll have seen before.